Steerpike

Boris Johnson has so far refused to take part in an election interview with Andrew Neil. Jeremy Corbyn, Jo Swinson, Nigel Farage and Nicola Sturgeon have all had their turns. But not the Prime Minister. At the end of his interview tonight with Farage, Andrew Neil sent a message to Boris Johnson: 'We have been asking him for weeks now to give us a date, a time, a venue. As of now, none has been forthcoming. No broadcaster can compel a political to be interviewed. But leaders’ interviews have been a key part of the BBC’s prime time election coverage for decades. We do them, on your behalf, to scrutinise and hold to account those who would govern us. That is democracy. We’ve always proceeded in good faith that the leaders would participate. And in every election they have.

'Do you sit down to watch the Queen's Speech, Mr Corbyn?' It's a simple question, but one the Labour leader appeared to struggle with during his interview on ITV. Corbyn responded by saying: 'It's on in the morning, usually we have it on some of the time.' The only problem? As Julie Etchingham pointed out, the Queen's Christmas Day address is broadcast at 3pm. Corbyn's response? 'Well...' 'You don't watch it, do you Mr Corbyn?' Etchingham asked the Labour leader. Oh dear. Another broadcast interview success for Corbyn...

Is the Labour party starting to panic? After a YouGov forecast this week suggested that the Tories could win scores of seats in the North of England, the Labour party appear to have made a rushed attempt to address regional inequality today. Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell announced this morning that not only would his party have a manifesto for the whole of the UK, Labour would also launch a separate manifesto for every single region of England – to tackle the scourge of our country's regional disparities. According to Labour, the manifestos showed that the party is committed to 'delivering change' and 'will benefit every person and community in Britain.

The Conservatives have launched a new party election broadcast that ran for the first time this evening on BBC One and ITV. The video (which you can view below) is made up of lots of different voters explaining why they're backing Boris Johnson. But what does this advert tell about the Tories' overall election strategy?   Getting Brexit done is still the central message Unlike the Labour party, who are reportedly changing their strategy just two weeks before election day, Boris Johnson is firmly sticking to his central message. But as Katy and James explained earlier on the Coffee House Shots podcast, Conservative strategists are more worried today than they have been at any other point during the campaign.

Elections are a frantic time for parliamentary candidates, as they scrap for a place in the House of Commons. Nonetheless, one of the few things you expect from them is to know the seat they're actually standing in. Apparently not though. Step forward John Nicolson, who was the SNP MP for East Dunbartonshire before he lost his seat to the Lib Dems' Jo Swinson in 2017. Since then, Nicolson has switched constitencies and is standing this election for the Nats in Ochil and South Perthshire. It appears though that Nicolson may have been struggling to keep abreast of the changes. Speaking at a local hustings, the candidate promised to protect his constituents and assured the audience that: 'As you know, only the Scottish National Party can beat the Tories here in East Dunbartonshire.